Telephone agent management information system

• US 4,988,209 A
• Filed: 12/29/1988
• Issued: 01/29/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: Hossain, Sahadat, Davidson, Wayne A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsu, Alpus H.
• Application Number:
  US07/291,814
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 370/58.1, 370/60, 370/60.1, 370/110.1, 370/58.2, 370/58.3, 370/62, 379/93, 379/94, 379/96, 379/112, 379/156, 379/157, 379/113, 379/122, 379/136, 379/34, 379/158, 379/211, 379/212, 379/213, 379/214, 379/215, 379/265, 379/266, 379/269, 380/25, 380/49, 340/825.31, 340/825.34
• US Class Current: 370/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/34 Charging, billing or metering arrangements for private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/32 Personal computers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/00 Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/002 with subscriber controlled access to a line, i.e. key telephone systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0428 Integrated services digital network, i.e. systems for transmission of different types of digitised signals, e.g. speech, data, telecentral, television signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13516 agents or brokers - user, terminal etc., also OSI agent/managers
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0062 Provisions for network management

Abstract

A computer connected to an ISDN switch via an ISDN digital subscriber line, provides management information regarding activities of a plurality of telephone agents. The computer has shared call appearances with a number of telephone agent stations and receives shared call appearance associated messages from the switch reflecting call handling messages exchanged between the ISDN switch and each of the agent stations. The messages are interpreted by the computer which generates station status information and management information such as the number of calls handled, average holding time per call, etc. The computer may be connected simultaneously to several central offices via ISDN subscriber lines and generate management information for a group of geographically separated agents, such as home telemarketing agents operating out of their individual homes and connected to different central offices.

Claims

1. A management information generating system for use with an ISDN switching system and a plurality of telephone agent stations connected to said switching system, and comprising:

computer means comprising means connected to said switching system via an ISDN subscriber line for receiving digital messages from said switching system corresponding to digital call handling messages transmitted between said system and said stations via subscriber lines other than said ISDN subscriber line connected to said computer means; and

said computer means further comprising means responsive to said digital messages for generating information defining past activities of said stations.

2. Apparatus for collecting information on activity of a telephone station connected to a central office switching system via a first subscriber line, comprising:

computer means comprising means for connection to said switching system via a second subscriber line having a shared call appearance with said station on said switch for receiving shared call appearance associated messages from said switching system; and

said computer means further comprising means responsive to said shared call appearance messages transmitted on said second subscriber line corresponding to call handling information transmitted between said switching system and said station for generating data representative of call handling activity of said station.

3. Apparatus for collecting information on activities of a plurality of telephone stations connected to an ISDN switching system via ISDN subscriber lines connected thereto, said switching system exchanging call handling information with said stations and generating associated ISDN messages corresponding to said call handling information, said apparatus comprising:

computing means responsive to said associated ISDN messages for generating data representative of call handling activities of said stations; and

means for connecting said computing means to an ISDN subscriber line other than said ISDN subscriber lines connecting said stations to said switching system, said connecting means for receiving said associated ISDN messages.

4. A method of generating management information relating to a plurality of agent stations handling telephone calls via an ISDN switching system, comprising the steps of:

connecting computing means to said switching system via an ISDN subscriber line;

assigning to said computing means shared call appearances with said plurality of stations;

transmitting from said switching system to said computing means associated ISDN messages corresponding to call handling information exchanged between said switching system and each of said stations via subscriber lines other than said ISDN subscriber line connecting said computing means to said switching system;

interpreting said associated messages at said computing means and recording in said computing means call data defining call initiation times and call termination times for calls involving said stations; and

generating at said computing means measurement data defining a measurement of call handling activity for each of said stations.

5. In combination, an ISDN switching system having ISDN subscriber lines and a plurality of telephone agent stations connected to said system via a plurality of said ISDN subscriber lines for exchanging ISDN messages with said system, and computer means connected to said switching system via one of said ISDN subscriber lines other than said plurality of ISDN subscriber lines connected to said agent stations;

said switching system transmitting on said one of said subscriber lines associated messages representative of ISDN messages transferred between said switching system and said stations via said plurality of subscriber lines; and

said computer means comprising means for recording data representative of call status of each call relating to each of said stations and means for recording data representative of call handling activities for all calls for each of said stations over a period of time.

6. A method of collecting data representative of call handling activities of a plurality of telephone agent stations connected to an ISDN switching system via ISDN subscriber lines, comprising the steps of:

exchanging ISDN control messages between said switching system and said stations over said ISDN lines;

transmitting to a computer connected to said switching system via an ISDN subscriber line other than said ISDN subscriber lines connected to said agent stations, associated messages corresponding to call handling messages exchanged between said switching system and said stations;

interpreting said associted messages at said computer; and

generating at said computer data defining call handling activities of said stations over a period of time.

7. Apparatus for generating management information for a plurality of telephone stations connected via subscriber lines to an ISDN switching system generating associated ISDN messages representative of call handling messages exchanged between said stations and said switching system via said subscriber lines, comprising:

computing means;

display means connected to said computing means; and

interface means for connecting, via a subscriber line other than said subscriber lines connected to said stations, said computing means to said ISDN switching system connected to said stations; and

said computing means responsive to said associated ISDN messages for controlling said display means to display data representative of call handling activities of said stations.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 wherein at least one of said subscriber lines connected to said stations is an analog line.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein at least one of said subscriber lines connected to said stations is a digital line.

10. An arrangement for generating data representative of call handling activities of a plurality of telephone agent stations located remotely from each other and each connected to a different one of a plurality of ISDN switching systems via a subscriber line, comprising:

a plurality of monitoring means, each means individually connected to one of said switching systems via a subscriber line other than a subscriber line connected to an agent station and each responsive to ISDN messages communicated between certain of said stations and said individually connected one of said switching systems for generating data representative of call handling activities of each of said stations connected to said individually connected one of said switching systems;

computing means responsive to data transmitted by each of said monitoring means for generating data representative of call handling activities for all of said plurality of stations; and

means for transmitting data from each of said monitoring means to said computing means.

11. The arrangement in accordance with claim 10 wherein each of said switching systems generates associated ISDN messages representative of messages transmitted between said switching systems and said stations and wherein each of said monitoring means interprets said associated messages and sends data defining station activity to said computing means.

12. An arrangement for collecting data representative of call activities of a plurality of telephone agents, each of said agents having an agent station, certain of said stations connected via subscriber lines to a first ISDN switching system and others of said stations connected via subscriber lines to a second ISDN switching system, each of said switching systems generating associated messages representative of call handling information exchanged between each of said systems and said connected stations, said arrangement comprising:

an ISDN message monitoring device comprising means for connecting to said first and said second switching system via subscriber lines other than subscriber lines connected to agent stations, and for receiving said associated messages from said first and said second switching systems; and

means responsive to associated ISDN messages received from said first and said second switching system representative of ISDN messages exchanged between each of said switching systems and said agent stations for generating data representative of call handling activities of all of said agents connected to said first and said second switching systems.

13. A method of collecting data representative of call handling activities of a plurality of telephone agent stations connected via subscriber lines to an ISDN switching system comprising the steps of:

monitoring associated ISDN messages representative of call handling messages exchanged between said switching system and said stations, said associated messages being transmitted via subscriber lines other than said subscriber lines connected to said agent stations;

converting said associated ISDN messages into data representative of functions performed by said stations;

transmitting said data to a computer means; and

generating at said computer means data defining call handling activities of all of said stations.

14. A billing information generating system for use with an ISDN switching system having a plurality of telephone agent stations connected thereto via ISDN subscriber lines, and an additional ISDN subscriber line not connected to said stations, and generating on said additional ISDN subscriber line digital messages corresponding to call handling information transmitted between said system and said stations, said billing information generating system comprising:

means for connection to said additional subscriber line and for receiving said digital messages;

means for recording call initiation and call termination information for each of said stations derived from said digital messages; and

means for computing billing charges for calls for each of said stations.